Administer backup files

This page is the single place you can review all your JoomlaPack backup history, as well as administer the backup files. The bulk of the page consists of a standard Joomla! list table. Each row represents a backup attempt and displays a whole lot of information:

The check box column

Clicking the check box on the leftmost cell of a row selects this backup for an operation to be applied to it. Operations are activated by clicking on tool bar buttons. In case of an operation allowing a single row to be selected, the topmost selected row is considered as the sole selection.

Description

Displays the description you have set when you started the backup. In case of frontend backups, this contains the default description which was assigned.

Start

Server's date and time when the backup started.

Duration

The duration of the backup in hours : minutes : seconds format. This information is not available for failed backups!

Status

Indicates the status of the backup and can be one of:

OK

A complete backup whose backup archive is available for download.

Obsolete

A complete backup whose backup archive is either deleted, or was overwritten by another backup attempt.

Pending

A backup attempt which is still running. You should not see any such record, unless a backup attempt started while you were loading this page. In this case, you should not navigate to the Control Panel page! Doing so would invalidate the backup and wreck havoc. You have been warned! Another reason to see such an entry is a backup attempt which failed with a PHP fatal error, or which was abruptly interrupted (by the user or a PHP error). In this case, you can safely delete the entry and get rid of the backup file as well.

Failed

A backup attempt which failed with a catchable error condition.

Origin

Indicates the origin of the backup and can be either frontend for backups originating from the front-end - or XMLRPC interface - or backend for backups originating from the back-end (regular backups).

Type

Indicates the backup type and can be Full for full site backups (database and files), DB Only for database only backups or Multi DB for multiple databases backup (an archive containing SQL dumps of the main site's database and the defined multiple databases).

Profile

Displays the numeric identifier of the backup profile used during the backup. It is possible that since then the profile may have been modified or even deleted!

Archive

Displays the name of the backup file, if it is available.

On the top of the page you can find a tool bar with operations buttons. The Delete button will remove the selected backup attempt entries along with their backup archives (if applicable). The Download button will download the archive file of the currently selected backup row. The View Comment button will open a page showing the description and comment of the currently selected backup row.

The Restore button is a new and exciting feature of JoomlaPack, as it allows you to restore full backups, as well as database only backups. In the former case, it will copy kickstart.php and the backup archive on your site's root, so that you can restore all of your site's files and database. You can read Kickstart's documentation for more information regarding the restoration process. In the latter case, JoomlaPack will copy the DataRestore script (datarestore.php) on your site's root, so that you can restore your Joomla! database without Joomla! interfering with the process.

[Warning]Warning

Familiarize yourself with the restoration process on a local test server first. Never restore a live site, unless you have a tested, functional backup file stored in a secure location on local media (for example a USB key or a CD-ROM). Be vary cautious when restoring; the process could potentially break your site! If you are only test driving this feature, do so in a local server!

JoomlaPack developers will not be responsible for any loss resulting from the use or misuse of the restoration feature. Common sense should be applied when using this feature.

In either case, if the necessary files could be copied on the site's root, you will be presented with a page containing a password and a link to open the restoration script. Please note down this password; it is absolutely necessary for the restoration script to run. This is a security feature to protect you against unauthorized or unintentional restoration which could lead to site compromise or inoperability.

[Important]Important

Pay great attention when writing down the password as it is case sensitive. This means that abc, Abc and ABC are different, as far as the restoration script is concerned! The best approach is to copy the password on your clipboard and paste it as soon as you are prompted for it. Failure to enter this password will result in inability to restore.

For more information regarding the restoration process, please refer to the Kickstart and DataRestore documentation (not included in the on-line help).